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It’s been hard to ignore the growing importance of video in today’s online world. With the extreme popularity of YouTube, the increasing use of video Twitter cards and Facebook’s recent emphasis on video, businesses can’t afford to miss out on this huge market space. Most marketers who have jumped on the video train have one goal: making their video go viral. Think back to the Christmas campaign of WestJet or KLM’s Lost & Found doggy video a few months ago. These marketers succeeded in making their videos go viral but not every business has the same budget and marketing superpower that many airlines do.
So is video important for the average business with an average budget? I’m here to tell you that the answer is yes and you need to care about video more than ever. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Videos need to be optimized for mobile – Mobile traffic has officially surpassed desktop traffic, which wasn’t a surprise to us. We’ve seen the number of mobile traffic growing and growing and this is why it’s so important to hammer down a mobile video strategy. Your customers are on their phones and your customers love to watch videos so you better get started on video brainstorming. Tip: Vertical videos have higher view completion rates than horizontal videos. Who wants to turn their phone when watching a video? So much effort.
2. People love user-generated content – some of the most popular apps are chat apps (Snapchat, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.) and their users seek out content that is created by their peers. If you’ve seen any of GoPro’s videos on YouTube, this is a great example of a business leveraging user-generated content in video form. Tip: Hold a contest and make the form of entry a user-submitted video. Your fans will love it and you’ll get a ton of great content to use in your social strategy or next ad campaign. Bonus tip: Don’t forget to include a release form and outline how you may use the video in your contest rules and regulations.
3. Younger people are addicted to visual content – if your business’ target demographic is 12-24 year olds, you especially can’t ignore the effect that video will have on your online marketing strategy. The most popular social networks for people between the ages of 12 and 24 are: Facebook (which is quickly falling in the ranks), Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram and Snapchat are purely photo and video-based so adjust your strategy to match your demographic. Tip: Don’t underestimate the importance of creating beautiful visual content for users on these networks.
Video has a lot of benefits that you just can’t get from other types of advertising which is why it is so crucial for any marketing strategy. Attention spans are dwindling and videos are a great way to get a lot of information into a short time span. Videos also help a brand establish trust and a human connection in a way that words often cannot. The most popular videos go viral because they make viewers feel something, even if it’s just amusement and laughter.
Now that I’ve convinced you to add video to your online marketing strategy, where should you start? Video testimonials, interviews, product demos, unboxing and humorous videos are some of the most popular video formats. But why stop there? Videos let you get as creative as you want to be, so there’s no limit on what you can create.
Have more pressing questions about the rise of video and how you can add it to your online strategy? Contact us today to learn more.
